Southampton resident's disgust as waste dumped River Itchen

As previously reported in the Echo, residents at Royal Court in Upper Grosvenor Road have unintentionally flushed nearly 11 million litres of waste into surface water drains instead of Southern Water's sewer system.

The entire 15-flat block was misconnected when it was built in 1989, and the issue has yet to be fixed.

The missed connection was detected when Southern Water tested the River Itchen's quality following a campaign to have the river recognised as bathing water.

One of the manholes outside the building where the waste is flowing(Image: Cristiano Magaglio) READ MORE: Toilets at block of flats have been pumping sewage into River Itchen for 36 years

Chung-Ching Tai, a professor at the University of Southampton, has lived at the Royal Court for five years and says he "could not believe" what had been happening.

He said: "The things that were happening for all those years. It is quite shocking.

"This is the only building that has this situation; it is really bad.

"If it can be fixed as soon as possible, it would be great."

A sample from the building being tested for ammonia (Image: Louise Buxcey)

Another resident, Gemma Parsons, was "shocked and disgusted" by the discovery. She has lived in the flat for six years and said: "I think it is absolutely disgusting.

"I am really surprised to hear this is a problem.

"Nobody wants to unintentionally harm the environment.

"I think my main frustration is that my water bill has doubled.

"A 100 per cent increase over the past year, and it (the waste) wasn't going to the right place."

Typically, the homeowner is liable to fix misconnections, which can cost between £200 and £400 for a builder to reconnect a toilet in one house properly.

Southern Water is footing the bill for Royal Court due to the "scale and importance" of the finding. 

READ MORE: Southern Water to save 3 million litres daily in Hampshire scheme

Alex Saunders, the Director of Waste Water Operations at Southern Water​ (Image: Cristiano Magaglio)Alex Saunders, the director of waste water operations at Southern Water, said: "Sometimes people connect their properties to the wrong pipes, to the surface water pipes, the ones that are meant to take rainwater away, and those don't get treated.

"Using all of the techniques that the teams have, we can find where people, usually unknowingly, are causing a detriment to the environment.

"That is what the team has done here. It's a massive find, one of the biggest we have ever had.

"That is why we are here to put that right, correct the mistake that was made by those builders in 1989 and make sure that all of those flows from this property go into the right place."

The "correct pipes" for the waste are only a couple of metres away, though Southern Water will need to dig up the street to make the changes.

Roy Sansom, who applied for planning permission, oversaw development and still owns Royal Court, did not respond to the Echo's requests for comment.